Asharielle and the Hidden Realm, page 30
She was the sun.
The silver patterning on her arms lit up as she levitated herself from the ground. “You will never have me,” she said, unsure whether it was her or The Guardian speaking.
“No!” Kyron shrieked. “I know who you are now. You, too, will be mine!” He turned to his militia. “I want that girl,” he screamed, but all they could do was bang their fists against the shield wall.
“You,” he said, stabbing a finger toward Eviath, “Bring the girl to me, Eri—” His words were cut short as Nick stepped in front of him and unfurled his wings. Whether he did it to intimidate or block Kyron’s view of her, Asharielle could not tell.
“I am Phoenix, Watcher to The Guardian of the Ancients,” he said with cold precision. “And you, Life Stealer are a plague that should never had made it off Kata’bothron. Long have the worlds been watching you.”
Phoenix stepped toward Kyron, but Rychek darted between them. Asharielle heard her warning snarl and waited, expecting some sort of confrontation, but she was taken aback as the beast became airborne. She shot like a rocket to the far side of the field. She heard a dull thump, but she did not see Rychek land; she was too enthralled by the fear she saw in Kyron’s eyes.
A disc appeared beneath his feet, and he took to the air. He zoomed across the field to where Rychek was struggling to stand. The militia held up their hands in surrender as they, too, backed away from the shield and ran after Kyron.
Phoenix furled his wings and stood in front of their group, ready to defend them if they came back.
Asharielle breathed a sigh of relief. Her display of power over, she came back to earth. Focusing her thoughts, she called Serra. Three ullmae appeared from different points around them but she could only count two males. She let them through her force field, sad that one had not made it.
“Ash?” Ryder’s voice was weak, and he had to say her name several times before Eviath got her attention.
She knelt beside him and grasped his hand.
“Ash?”
“I’m here Ryder. Don’t talk. You need to save your strength.” The light that had once blazed in his eyes now shone like a candle flame. She swallowed.
“First…so proud—we all are.” She smiled and tucked his limp hair behind his ear as she waited. “You need to open…op—”
“You need to open the portal.” Eviath spoke for him, and Ryder nodded. “He is too weak,” she said, pointing at Ryder. Then she indicated Nick. “And he is unable to perform when the phoenix has him in its grip.”
Ryder coughed. His lungs rasped as he took a big breath, but his voice was a whisper. She leaned in close to catch the words. “He can sense me, Ash. Dragon…feel me close. He…below. He…catch us…sky…un…stand?”
She didn’t but she nodded anyway. Ryder smiled. Leaning forward, she kissed his brow.
“I want—” he began, then his eyes drifted closed. Asharielle bit down on her quivering lip. She went to check his pulse, but Eviath beat her to it.
The girls stared into each other’s eyes.
Chapter 37
“He’s alive, Ash, but barely. We need to move now,” Eviath said. “Let me look after him so you can focus on opening the portal.”
In yet another display of strength, Eviath got to her feet and slung an unconscious Ryder over her shoulder.
“I agree with the seer,” Phoenix said. “Those militia back at the crash site are pulling something hefty from one of the crates. I can also see their overlord bossing them around and he doesn’t look happy. Kyron is not about to give up and will do anything in his power to catch you, little one. I suggest that you draw all the hue from Sanctuary that you can to try and slow him down.”
Asharielle stared into his glowing eyes, nodding as she realised that ‘little one’ was a reference to her. Phoenix gave sound advice. Reaching for the hue in Sanctuary was becoming automatic, and this time, she didn’t hold back. She pulled, and energy flooded into her as she got to her feet.
The Guardian lay quiet within her, but she remembered what he had told her about the portal. She was sure she could open it. Of course, she had no idea where to go once they were out of the portal. Ryder had said that Dragon was waiting for them. It was a naïve sentiment on her part, but she hoped the gate would take them straight to his home.
“Keep your shields up, little one, and get that door open now,” Phoenix said. “I will buy you the time you need.”
She nodded, awed by the trail of colours that blazed behind him as he levitated into the sky. As his wings unfurled for flight, Asharielle gasped and found her hand reaching for Eviath’s. Though he had kept his otherworldly fire contained while he walked the earth, flight set him free. An explosion of light and colour cracked across the sky, temporarily blinding her. As the light dimmed, she stared at what looked to be Phoenix’s true form.
This being was not of the Earth.
A fire elemental flew across the sky.
His legs and arms were gone. Yellow eyes peered from a face that looked more avian than human, and a giant plumage of flame flickered from the crown of his head like an ornate headdress. His wings were pure fire, as were the eight tails that crackled through the air like burning whips.
Cosmic. The word burst to the forefront of her mind. That’s what Phoenix was. He had told her before that his fire was unlike anything upon this earth and she had to agree with him. He looked as though he had been birthed from a nebula, for his flames looked more like the beautiful gas clouds that gave space its colour. Her breath caught at the sheer majesty of the sight, and she turned to Eviath.
“Have you ever seen such a thing before?” she asked.
“Never,” she replied, her voice soft and full of wonder, “but I am glad to be able to witness such a sight. I can’t believe that’s my friend! I always knew Nick and The Guardian were close, but to think that Nick loved him enough to change this much humbles me more than I can say.”
“Oh, look, he can teleport too,” she said as he disappeared and reappeared above Kyron and his militia.
Eviath nudged her shoulder. “C’mon, let’s not waste the time he is giving us. Ryder is getting heavy, and you have a job to do.”
She nodded, knowing she had to drag her eyes away from the explosive battle that was now taking place over the crash site of Kyron’s skimmer. Closing her eyes, she shut out the distractions and felt for the etheric doorway that would lead back to the real world. She found the zipper straight away, but no matter how she tried she could not unzip it. There was nothing to grasp, either physically or mentally. She remembered that The Guardian saw it as a freshly sutured cut and tried to picture it that way. The image changed but the doorway still looked intangible. It floated in front of her as though it were a reflection on a pond. She tried to cut the sutures with a pair of scissors, but it was like trying to snip the sheet of a ghost on Halloween.
“Eviath, it’s not working,” she said, opening her eyes to look at her friend. “The cut is too fragile, and Sanctuary is too weak. What should I do?”
Eviath’s body stiffened, and her eyes glazed over. With unseeing eyes, she looked directly at Asharielle.
“A laser slicing through molten metal does nothing, but harden the metal and the laser will cut it… Does that help at all?”
“Whoa, did you just get a prophecy?” she asked, a little awestruck.
Eviath nodded. “More like a clue,” she replied. “Remember, the universe needs us to get out of this alive, so The Fates are willing to help a little. Now, concentrate. Do you know how you can apply that to open the portal?”
“Gimme a second on that one,” she said as she replayed Eviath’s words in her head. Zippers and cuts weren’t working but now she was expected to treat it like metal. Closing her eyes, she viewed the etheric cut and, this time, she studied the faint patches of hue surrounding it. Could the molten metal be the wisps of hue? Testing the theory, she manifested a laser and sliced at the tear, but it passed through the hue and shot off into empty space.
A deafening boom sounded in the distance. Alarmed by the noise, she cracked an eyelid to make sure they weren’t in danger. What she saw dragged both her eyes open. A powerful hued missile had exploded against Phoenix, engulfing him in a massive mushroom cloud of fire that made the air sizzle and crackle around it.
“Nick!” she cried, but she needn’t have worried. As she watched, the explosive light retracted as Phoenix absorbed the energy of the blast. As his shape edged back into being, he seemed a little larger than before.
“Hurry, Asharielle. Kyron is heading this way while Phoenix is distracted,” Eviath interrupted.
Shutting her eyes again, she felt for the cut once more and contemplated how hard metal linked to her portal. Did hard metal mean she had to harden the hue surrounding the gateway or just make it dense? On instinct, she began to draw hue from Sanctuary. She packed it around the cut. As its density increased, the cut became firmer and less ghost-like in appearance. Sure she was onto something, she crammed in every particle of hue she could summon, and just as The Guardian had said, the tear straightened and she could feel its hard edges. She reached out…
“Erith, suffocate the girl until her shield drops.”
Asharielle's eyes shot open to find Kyron standing outside her shield. Phoenix was still above the crash site.
Kyron also stood on the ground at the crash site, shouting instructions to his militia. He followed her gaze, looking over his shoulder, and when he turned back, his smile was devious.
“Pretty clever, isn’t it? A little bit of hue and you have holographic Kyron, a deception real enough to fool any bird!”
She opened her mouth to scream for Phoenix, but Kyron cut her off.
“Shush, girl! Close your mouth or I will set this off,” he threatened, indicating the rocket launcher in his hands. “If I recall, it knocked out your shields last time, and at such close range, you may not survive.”
Clamping her mouth shut, she turned to Eviath for help, but Kyron got there first.
“Erith, follow my instructions,” he commanded.
“And ignore prophecy, My Lord? Are you sure?” she asked, humbling herself before him, but her eyes flicked to Asharielle. “It never bodes well when you discard prophecy…”
Asharielle nodded at the emphasis Eviath had placed on that last sentence. She had understood the message and knew she had a job to do, but first, she cast her thoughts toward Phoenix. If she could reach his mind, she could let him know that Kyron was here. Closing her eyes, she searched until she sensed an alien energy in the ether. As she quested toward it, the light became a glowing spirit that split into three figures. An old man stood to the left and a little boy to the right. At the centre, Phoenix held both their hands, binding them in unity.
“Nick, can you hear me?” she thought at them.
“We are here,” the old man replied.
“Kyron stands outside my shield. He has an RPG.”
“We come, Shari, but you must open the gate now,” said the youth.
Nodding, she returned to the portal. Manifesting a laser, she cut through the hue and breached the tear in space. It sprang open, and light from the real world glinted through. She wrenched at the cut with her mind, and it gave way.
“Asharielle, you’ve done it,” Eviath cried.
She opened her eyes, relieved to see that a glimmering portal had appeared behind Kyron.
“Erith, obey me now,” Kyron said. “Choke the girl. I don’t care about your blasted prophecy. I want that unicorn!”
Asharielle heard a thump behind her as Ryder hit the ground. Her breath cut off as she felt Eviath’s hands clamp around her neck. The ullmae spun on their haunches and their tails arched as they prepared to attack.
Eviath’s voice sounded in her head as she made her appeal. “Help me, Asharielle. I’m walking a fine line here. Tell Serra to attack and knock me out. It’s the only way to make Kyron believe I am still on his side. He can’t know the truth yet!”
Asharielle gasped for air. Her throat was burning. Eviath was really choking her.
“Serra, help!” she wheezed.
Serra launched at Eviath’s arm. A male ullmae attacked from the other side, butting his head into her side like a battering ram. Eviath flew backward and hit the ground hard. Serra’s tails curled over, and without hesitation, a spiky tip penetrated Eviath’s leg, jolting her body with an electric shock that knocked her out. The male stood watch over her while Serra returned to guard the barrier with the other male.
Asharielle’s lungs were burning, but she drew her shoulders back and stood up straight. She wanted to look strong in front of her enemy.
Kyron slapped his hand on the barrier. She knew he was going to absorb her shield, but Serra had her covered here as well. All three tail points touched the barrier, electrifying it.
“Damn it!” Kyron scowled, pulling his hand back and shaking it. “I’d rather kill you than let you escape again!”
He rose into the air on his disc and took aim with the RPG. At that moment, Phoenix teleported into place overhead, but it was too late. Kyron pressed the trigger, and a grenade rocketed out of the barrel.
The missile screamed toward her.
Time slowed to a crawl.
Working on instinct, she adapted her shield to create a sphere that scooped up Ryder, Eviath, the ullmae, and herself. She sent their orb hurtling toward the portal.
The RPG hit the ground behind them.
The explosion was deafening.
A shockwave of energy radiated from the impact site. It hit their sphere and shot them like a bullet toward the open gateway.
Chapter 38
Asharielle held her breath as they were propelled out the other side like a cannonball. Bright blue sky surrounded them as they were jettisoned through the air. Centrifugal force held her against the sphere’s walls, but it tumbled so fast that she felt like a pair of jeans in a dryer. As the force of their potential energy depleted, their travel slowed, and she caught a glimpse of the mountains far below her. They looked microscopic. Her stomach flipped with the knowledge that the portal had opened miles above the ground. It flipped again as the sphere began to drop like a rock.
Using hue, she centred herself and her friends in the middle of the sphere and rotated it to look back at the portal. She had no time to wonder why they hadn’t arrived on the mountainside… Kyron would be coming through at any minute—unless she could stop him.
The Guardian’s words flashed in her head: “You must not get stuck inside Sanctuary when the last of the hue that binds this dimension runs out or you will all die.” Hoping it was true, she pulled all the remaining hue through the gateway. If she could drain it before Kyron and Rychek came through, all this would be over. Then she could stroll into his lair, rescue Jack and her friends, and they could all go back to having a normal life.
The gateway shimmered and grew smaller, but whether it was because the door was shrinking or because they were dropping like a rock she couldn’t tell. She hoped it was the former. Light flashed at the gateway and Phoenix appeared in the sky. Even from far away, he looked impressive, but he didn’t head toward them. Instead, he chased the zooming red light that speared toward them on a downward curve.
Kyron had made it out of Sanctuary. Panic set in as she realised that Nick had not taught her tactics for an aerial battle.
“I don’t know what to do!”
Only the whistling sound of the falling sphere filled her ears. Eyes wide, she looked at her two companions floating next to her. Both Ryder and Eviath were unresponsive. They could not help her, and the ullmae could not fly. Serra and her companions were suspended for their own safety so she could not use them in battle.
She looked at the mountain below, unsure of her options. Enormous rocky peaks jutted from a thick blanket of sunlit clouds. If she didn’t want to be a blob of strawberry jam on those peaks, then she needed to act. She had to slow their descent, but if she did, Kyron would catch them, and she had no idea what form of attack he would try. Phoenix wouldn’t be able to grab them either as his flame would burn straight through the shield.
“I could make us a hued parachute,” she said, thinking aloud. “That would slow us down…but then we would be at Kyron’s mercy.”
“My Lady,” Serra interrupted. “I’m not sure we need to do anything. I think that’s what Ryder was trying to tell us. He said Dragon would catch us.”
“Where is he then?” She scanned the skies, hoping that a giant dragon would appear in the sky. “I can’t see him anywhere.”
What she did see was Kyron’s maniacal face growing larger as he gained on them. He waved his arms as if he were casting a spell. A giant net of red hue shot from his hands. It hurtled across the sky and closed around the sphere. Kyron pulled on the ropes and their descent swung to a grinding halt.
Asharielle looked for Phoenix. He was closing in fast, but was he fast enough to help them? Closing her eyes, she cast her thoughts into the wind and called for the one being who might be able to help them.
“Dragon, I don’t know if you can hear me, but we could do with some help.”
Asharielle saw that the net culminated into a single braid that Kyron held with both hands. Delirious glee radiated from every pore of his being as he peered over the edge of his disc. An unconscious Rychek was lashed to the back of the craft.
“I’m going to crack you like an egg and tip out the gooey bits,” Kyron screamed, his voice booming over the breeze that whipped between them. With a mighty heave, he pulled on the net and swung them in a massive arc over his head. Asharielle felt her stomach flip as they swung around into the drop. She used her hue to cushion everyone against the impact as the sphere smashed with unearthly force onto a large flat disc that he had manifested in the air.
Hairline fractures appeared on the shield’s surface. Kyron dragged the net off the platform and swung them again. She sealed the fractures as best as she could, but she was already gritting her teeth in anticipation of the downward swing.
